Old Time Rush
by DayNap
Summary: Everything is going great within Big Time Rush. But and unexpected visit from an old friend, with a lot of history with the guys, leaves things getting complitcated, FAST! OC and a LOVE SQUARE! Not a gay love story, character's based on friendship.
1. Big Time Drama

**Hey guys! I know what you're all thinking right now! "WHERE IS THE NEXT EPISODE OF 'BATTLE SCARS'!" Well, the ¾ done next ep is on my computer that is out currently being cleaned of viruses. So, until that comes back you'll have to wait patiently. I'm typing this on my old desktop, and it's reminding me of why I got my laptop in the first place. Anyways, this came to me while watching BTR the other day. Enjoy!**

Jo and Kendal had just left on their anniversary date to celebrate being together six months. Katie was out with her mom to go and find something they could do together. The guys were all lounging around inside their room not doing anything productive. Carlos was watching cute girls walk around outside in their bikinis while he used his hockey helmet as a popcorn bowl as he snacked. James was lying upside down on the couch while staring at his reflection in his hand-held mirror to see how long he could hang upside down while still looking good. Logan was playing a surgery simulation game on his itouch and was currently dissecting a frog on it. Nothing all that interesting seemed to be going down today and the boys were BORED!

"I wish something would happen today! This is SO boring!" James whined as he shook his bangs into a different spot to see if it'd look better that way. Right as the words were out of his mouth they all heard a knock at the door. "Ooh! Like clock work! Would someone get that?"

"No, you get it!" Logan snapped with irritation because the knock had startled him, causing him to accidentally cut the frog's head off.

"I don't wanna! Carlos!"

"No! The Jennifer's all got new swim suits and their wearing them! Man I love bikinis!" Carlos droned on as he stared at them mindlessly.

"Why don't we all get it? That way everyone has to stop what they're doing and no one will miss out more than the other." Logan offered, looking up at his friends through his eyelashes. James and Carlos nodded and they all set aside what they were doing and dragged their feet to the door.

James twisted the door handle and they all waited as it swung open. Once they all saw what was in the doorway all of their hearts stopped in panic.

"Hey guys! I came to visit!" The medium height brunette standing in the doorway chippered, obviously happy to see them. The Minnesota native smiled a sweet smile to reveal her pearly white, perfectly straight teeth. Her hair was pretty short, as if she had a pixie cut a few months ago and it was starting to grow out, and she had big hazel eyes that stared up at them in a mix of blue brown and green. Her figure was slim and muscular from all of the soccer that she had played over the year. She was a very beautiful young lady and the boys didn't know what to say to her. Their best friend that was a girl was standing before them looking as she had a year ago only older. "Where's Kendal?" She looked around the trio, into the apartment to check to see if he was there.

The boys were in full on panic mode! This was a code red and they knew it! They became jumpy and James looked at the other guys for some sort of sign of what to do. Unfortunately the other two were doing the same thing. James did the only thing he could think of at that moment. The door slammed in the girl's face and she jumped back surprised but not upset with them. They had always been freaks, this was actual normal behavior for them. _Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh… _

_Make it count, play it straight. Don't look back, don't hesitate. When you go big time. What you want, what you feel. Never quit, and make it real. When you roll big time. Hey, hey, listen to your heart now. Hey, hey, don't you feel the rush? Oh, oh, oh, oh. Go on shake it up, what you gotta lose? Go and make your luck with the life you choose. If you want it all, lay it on the line. It's the only life you got, so you gotta live it big time!_

"Oh god! What are we going to do?" James asked as he paced back and forth. "I was not expecting to see her any time soon!" Logan shrugged and looked at Carlos with worry embedded into his eyes. This was going to get complicated fast, he could tell already because she was prettier than she was before and that was saying something. It looked like Carlos had seen a ghost because he was pale and had completely forgotten about his popcorn and the girls outside. Last year was replaying in his mind and he already wanted to cry.

_Man up dude! Only chicks cry!_ His mind echoed and he shook himself out of it, putting on a mask of complete numbness.

"Are you okay Carlos?" Logan asked as the attention was all passed over to him. He felt hot nerves grow in the very pit of his stomach and he gave just a simple nod, reminding himself that they were still best friends. "I love that girl to death guys but she's only been here a few seconds and she's starting trouble within our walls of manly fortitude!"

"—and she can hear everything you're saying." Her voice could be heard through the door and it had a sarcastically snippy tone. James took a deep breath and re-opened the door for her. She stepped into their colorful apartment with multiple bags of luggage under her arms, making all three of the guys even more nervous than before. "I'm glad to see Hollywood hasn't changed you guys a bit. You're still a bunch of goofballs! Good thing too because if not I was going to have to snap you guys back into shape!" She laughed and when she noticed they weren't laughing or rejoicing that she was there after a year apart, she broke off. "What's wrong guys? None of you have even hugged me hello yet and I've been here for about a minute. Normally by three seconds I'm on the bottom of a Kendal, James, Logan, and Carlos dog pile."

"It's not that we're not happy to see you…" Logan started as he dug his hands into his pockets and snuck a look over at Carlos again who was trying to avoid looking at her.

"…It's just that you just showed up here, without any warning…" James continued the sentence with the tiniest smile possible. It was still the biggest one she'd received from any of them yet.

"What are you talking about?" She said as she set all her bags down. "I asked your mom if I could come down for the summer since I hadn't seen you guys since you left Minnesota. I figured she told you guys…"

"Mrs. Knight!" Carlos cursed as he rubbed the back of his head that was currently spinning from this sudden revelation.

"Oh my gosh, Carlos…" She trailed off as if she had just seen Carlos for the first time. At the sound of her voice saying his name Carlos snapped his head up and stared directly at her with anticipation of what she was going to say to him. "You're not wearing your helmet! I don't think I've ever seen you with it off." She boldly reached her hand out and rubbed her hands over his hair quickly, causing Carlos to stop breathing for the duration she was touching him. "You actually have hair under there, who knew?"

"Yeah, Gustavo only lets me wear it if I'm actually using it for something. It's no longer a fashion accessory…"

"Well you look good with out it." She laughed turning to the guys. "Come on guys! What is wrong with you? It's not like the Twins lost last night or anything!" Once she mentioned the guys all time favorite baseball team, reminding them of their victory last night against the Marlins, they all smiled at her from ear to ear. Before she knew it she was enclosed in a tight hug from the guys, despite the one missing piece.

"Hey guys! I'm back, why are all of you hugging?" Kendal cheered as he walked through the already open door way. "I had a great time with…" Kendal stopped talking entirely when the guys departed to present who was standing in the middle of their hug. He opened his mouth but no words came out as her eyes lit up with delight.

"KENDAL!" She squealed joyfully as she flung herself into Kendal's arms. It took Kendal a moment to hug her back, remembering that she was still his best friend despite everything.

"Riley…" He sounded breathless as he realized this was really happening to him and he hugged her close to his chest. He shut his eyes and let out a breath that blew onto the back of Riley's neck, giving her goose bumps. He thought he'd never have the chance to hold her like this again, but here she was, right in front of him, right in his arms. "What…what are you doing here?" He whispered to her in their long embrace.

"I came to see you…" She pulled out of the hug so she could look him in the eyes. "…all of you! I'm staying the summer, on the couch."

"Aw, no! You don't have to do that Rie! You can take my bed and I'll sleep on the couch." Kendal offered up immediately as he leaned down and took up most of her bags.

"_Caaaa-would Jo-craaa-like that-craaaah." _Carlos coughed as if to remind Kendal secretly of something. Luckily, Riley was too busy messing around with her bags to notice, but Kendal sure did. At first he glared at Carlos for even bringing Jo up around Riley, before he realized that he was right and handed one of the bags off to James.

"Look Kendal, that's very nice of you to offer but Gustavo probably wouldn't like the idea of you sleeping on a couch for two months. I can sleep on the couch, I almost guarantee that it'll still be comfier than my bed back home." Riley assured him as they all carried her stuff into Katie's room, where the extra dresser was. "You guys probably wanna go out and have fun! Go ahead, I'll be a while unpacking. I'll just come find you when I'm done, I promise." She turned and looked at all the guys staring at her in disbelief. They just couldn't believe she was here.

"'Kay, see you in a little bit Riley! We'll be by the pool!" James said, motioning Logan to help him drag Kendal and Carlos out of the room.

"The window in the living room has a perfect view of the pool area so you should be able to find us easily. LETS GO GUYS!" Logan had to thwack Kendal upside the head lightly just to get him to listen. This was _definitely_ going to get messy.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

"She looks good, doesn't she?" Kendal remarked as they all looked up at the window that they knew was their own. They were huddled in their special corner where Kendal had given them all their first motivational speech about the band. Now they met there whenever they felt as though they needed to have a band meeting. This was definitely one of those times. "She chopped her hair off but I like it, it makes her look older."

"Will you just _STOP_!" Carlos finally snapped at him. Everyone went silent, including Kendal. Both Kendal and Carlos glowered at each other, as the memories of last year's event's floated back into each member's heads.

"I thought we were both _over_ what happened last year bro." Kendal growled as he leaned over the coffee table to get into Carlos' face.

"So did I." Carlos said getting up and storming away. Correction, tried to storm away. James jumped up from his seat and tackled him to the ground. "What the flip are you doing?"

"You are _not_ running from this. Not again. Come on man, don't walk away angry." James pleaded with his friend, hoping he'd listen to him. Carlos sighed and nodded his head as James helped him back over to his place on the bench.

"Ok, you wanna talk. Then let's talk." Carlos huffed as anger rose in his chest and he knew he wouldn't be able to contain himself any longer. He just had to say what he'd been feeling ever since he saw Riley show up at their doorstep. "Riley is back in our lives now and you have a girlfriend! One that you've been acting all gaga and lovey dovey over for six months now! I feel as though this may be destiny giving me _my _chance to get with her."

"_NO ONE_ will be _getting with_ Riley while I'm still breathing!" Kendal shouted as he jumped up from his spot all flustered.

"Sit down Kendal!" Logan reprimanded as he kept and eagle eye out for Camille to make sure she wouldn't over hear and tell Jo or worse, Jo overhearing them herself.

"That's not what I meant and you know it! Stop trying to twist this into something it's not!" Carlos' words were low, quick, and harsh. "Why can't you just let her go and let me be happy?"

"Because…" Kendal sighed as he looked down at the glass of the coffee table keeping them all separated. Logan began to hit Kendal in the arm to stop him from talking but, Kendal didn't seem to be reading his sign. "…I'm in love with her…"

"Really?" Jo said, her voice welling up. Kendal gasped and hopped to his feet in embarrassment. "Do you really mean that?"

"There's your out bro!" James mutters to his friend who resembled a deer caught in headlights.

"No James, she needs to know…" Kendal sighs looking directly at Jo's face who was peering up at him with anticipation. "Yes, it's true."

"Oh my gosh! This is _great!"_ She automatically planted a kiss on her boyfriend's lips, shooting every member of Big Time Rush into a state of complete and total shock. What was wrong with her? "I love you too Kendal!" She gushed after pulling away and gripping Kendal in a tight hug. Kendal looked as though he was totally shell shocked and Carlos looked relieved. The last thing he wanted was for Kendal to magically become single again.

"Right…yeah! It's…GREAT!" Kendal recovered from his state and tried to act normal, despite the fact that he had just admitted he never really got over Riley and his current girlfriend overheard, thinking that he was talking about her, who he wasn't sure he _did _love.

He really liked Jo, it wasn't that he didn't. Or that he wasn't attracted to her because he definitely was and he got butterflies when he kissed her but, he wasn't sure if what he felt was strong enough to call love. What could he do now though? He couldn't take it back, could he? That would most likely be considered very wrong on every level of being a good boyfriend. Of course, having feelings for another girl doesn't really give him a nomination for boyfriend of the year.

"We'll see you boys later, we're gunna go celebrate." Jo excused them both, keeping her gaze on the boy she loved. "If that's okay with you Kendal…"

"Of course, I'll see you guys later…" He kept his gaze on Carlos a little longer than necessary before taking off with his girl friend. "What do you want to get to remind you of this moment?" Jo asked leaning into her boyfriend, to get him to lay his arm over her shoulders.

"What?"

"Well, I was thinking we should get promise rings so we can always look down at them and remember our love." Jo burst smiling widely. Promise rings. To remind him of when he told her he loved her. Of when he told her a lie. A _big_ lie. Great. He nodded his head and went on with her, looking over his shoulder at the window where he could see Riley's figure. It's standing there, staring at them.

At that moment he swore he was going to fall over and pass out.

"Are you alright honey?" Jo asked looking worried as they headed for the exit of the Palm Woods.

"Yeah dear. I'm fine…" He said with a weak smile in her direction but, he had just told her another big lie.

_Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh_

She couldn't feel anything around her. She was completely numb. She watched the boys fighting and acting all weird. Kendal and Carlos in particular. It was definitely about her. About what happened last year. Then this pretty blonde girl pranced up to them and kissed Kendal. _KISSED HIM!_ Then they left together with their arms wrapped all around each other like two octopus. This couldn't be happening to her! Kendal had promised that they would take a break when he went away from home, but he wouldn't move on. He PROMISED.

She grabbed her sunglasses and stormed out of the room, she had to go somewhere. She didn't know where she just knew that she couldn't stay here, not after seeing that. She was already in a bikini with only a wrap tied around her waist but, she didn't care. She'd have to go find somewhere that wouldn't mind her being dressed like that. She slammed on the elevator button repetitively until it finally reached her floor. As the doors slid open a girl dressed in something similar smiled at her. She stepped in and noticed she also was going to the lobby.

"Are you going swimming?" The girl asked in a friendly voice. Riley just shook her head no shyly and tore her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Me either, I'm going to the audition. Is that where you are going too?" She asked with the same tone as before. Riley turned to this girl to get a better look at her. She was on the shorter side with long beautiful dark curly hair and a fair complexion.

"I am now." She said with a snide smile and putting on her sunglasses. "I'm Riley."

"Camille." She said shaking hands with the new girl. Who cared if she was competition for the role, she looked like she was having a bad day and need a friend right now.

_Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh_

"Riley?" Carlos' voice echoed into the apartment as he peaked in, afraid of walking in on her as he had accidentally when she was changing into her costume when she was the lead in the school play. He had gotten her flowers and when she hugged him, she had placed her hand on the back of his neck. It had felt so good…

Once again Carlos had to snap himself out of it. These were all only memories now but they seemed so fresh in his mind, as if they just happened yesterday. But they didn't. They happened last year. Before Kendal had gotten involved and ruined everything for him. Before Gustavo came into town. Before He was part of a band that was slowly growing in popularity.

No one answered his call so he walked into the apartment the rest of the way. He looked around for her but Riley was no where in the apartment. He quickly scanned the pool area out the window to see if he had somehow missed her but, she wasn't there either. As he turned around he noticed something on the ground, sparkling in the sunlight. As he knelt down he recognized it as a necklace. A very beautiful and expensive one. He knew that he shouldn't have, but he smiled at the sight of it. He remembered well the first time he had seen that necklace now in his hands.

_He was there. Riley told him to be so he was. It was plain and simple. He knew that he was getting the news today and it was apparent to him that there was a chance that it wasn't going to be good news. He could only hope that it would be. As he saw Riley pulling up on her 1940's style bike he smiled at her. She looked tired and worn out but he didn't care. She still was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. She had been crying, he could also see that. _

_Maybe she had broken Kendal's heart before coming here. That had to be it. It had to be or he would just die._

"_Hey…" She mumbled as she got off the bike and walked over to him looking extremely shaken up. He touched her arms with both his hands, running his fingers over her smooth skin to calm her down. Tears welled back up in her eyes as she looked up at Carlos. "I've just come from talking to Kendal…"_

_That's when he saw it. The expensive gift that hung around her neck. He knew automatically that it was a gift because her family was having a lot of financial issues and would never have been able to afford a necklace like that. "Where'd you get this?" _

_His fingers trailed over the crystalline texture of the jewelry that wasn't anything like what Riley would normally wear. She let the tears pour over her cheeks as she looked down at the grass underneath both of their converse. Then he knew and recoiled his hands from her as if she had just burned his hands very badly._

It was one of his worst memories and even though the necklace reminded him of it, he was never happier to see it there. Riley never look this necklace off, EVER. She must've ripped it off of her neck and rushed out of here. She saw Kendal and Jo together through the window. Now she was out doing something to distract her until she could calm down. He knew Riley well and knew that was what she was doing.

Now there definitely was hope for him.

_Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh_

"Thank you ladies, we'll be in touch within the next couple of days." The casting director said to Riley and Camille politely as they walked out of the audition, both of them feeling confident that they had nailed a part.

"You were great." Riley said smiling at Camille as she started calling for a taxi to bring them back to the Palm Woods.

"Thanks! You too! I didn't expect you to be that good, I must admit." Camille said sheepishly as a taxi pulled over for them.

"Don't worry about it, I understand." Riley laughed as they got in together. "I was in my school plays all the time back home in Minnesota."

"You lived in Minnesota?" Camille blurted amazed at the coincidence and waited patiently as She nodded in response. "So are my closest guy friends! Have you met Logan, James, Kendal, and Carlos?"

"MET THEM? Their my best friends!" Riley cheered, happy to know that someone else knew them. "However, Kendal and I…we uh…we're more than that…I think…or I thought so until earlier today with I saw him with some blonde chick!"

"Whoa! Back up! Kendal? Kendal Knight?"

"That'd be the one. I know their pop stars or whatever but he and I have been friends before any of them moved here."

"That blond girl…her name is Jo and she's my bestie." Camille informed the new comer, causing Riley's mouth to drop agape. "They've been together for six months. Do you mind if I call her?"

"I-I, uh…no go ahead. I feel she has a right to know." Riley stammered. Kendal was going to kill her later but she didn't care. All she wanted was her true love back.

_Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh_

"Riley! There you are! Where have you been?" Kendal shouted when she walked into the apartment. Kendal was sitting in it all alone, so it seemed but Riley knew better. Carlos' door was closed, which meant he was inside because Carlos never left his door closed when he wasn't in it.

"I was just chilling with Camille." Riley said sitting down next to Kendal and feeling him lay his arm over her out of instinct. She knew it was wrong of it to be there but it felt comfortable, normal. "Oh, you met Camille?" Kendal asked smiling at the memory of her forcing Logan to kiss her over and over. "Yeah, she's really nice." Riley said taking a deep breath, remembering the way Camille acted when talking to Jo on the phone. She could hear Jo screaming on her end of the line from her side of the car.

"Kendal!" Jo had just burst into the room and the scenery was _not_ good. Kendal jumped ten feet away from Riley but it was too late, Jo had seen him. "You need to tell me what the heck is doing on right this second or I'm walking out that door and I'm never coming back!"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Riley said glancing over at Carlos' closed door.

"Kendal? I want to know! Or I'm gone." Jo said ignoring her advice.

"Can we do it some other time?" Kendal's mind was full of how it would make Carlos feel to over hear them both telling Jo the story again. It hurt him so much the first time. Hearing it again would only make it worse.

"No, let's tell her. All three of us." Carlos said, he was now standing in his doorway, propped up against his door frame. "It all started a year ago…"

_To be continued…_

**In the next episode we're stepping back in time and learning all about Riley/Kendal/Carlos' past, mentioned A LOT in this episode. But what about now? Who do YOU want Riley to end up with in the end? The vote may swag who I want her with…leave your vote in your review and add this story to your alerts to find out what happened a year ago and who she'll pick THIS time around. ;D**


	2. Big Time Past

**Hey everyone! Firstly I must apologize for spelling Kendall's name wrong in the first episode. I'll go fix that when I have my laptop back because this site moves extremely slow on this computer.**

_1 year ago_

James had just made an incredible save in the goal and threw the puck out to Kendall. He was able to swerve around all the opposing team players and keep sprinting on this sudden break away. The sound of his skates against the ice was one that he could only enjoy when he was going this fast. The scrape of metal to ice made a _click, click, click _that only had a very brief pause between them when he was moving this fast. He was extremely close to taking a shot, he had even brought his hockey stick back to hit the puck. Then, the opposite team's largest player came out of no where and Kendall could suddenly taste the plastic wall that separated him from the crowd. He was sandwiched between the wall and an extremely fat guy.

The crowd rose to its feet, every fan holding their breath. The puck had just slid out away from the two that were up against the wall and the ref was refusing to call anything, despite multiple complaints. Suddenly, someone swooped in, skated in a little further and sent that stout black cylinder colliding with the white net behind the other team's goalie. Every person watching that game was roaring passionately, whether to congratulate or curse at the team.

But no one was louder than a certain medium height, dark haired, tanned beauty that was jumping up and down in the crowd. "OH MY GOSH! THAT WAS CARLOS! _MY BESTFRIEND!_ YOU JUST MADE A GOAL! GGGGOOOO CARLOS! MY GOODNESS!"

_BEEEEEEEEEEEP!_

The clock sounded and that was that. They had won._ Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh… _

_Make it count, play it straight. Don't look back, don't hesitate. When you go big time. What you want, what you feel. Never quit, and make it real. When you roll big time. Hey, hey, listen to your heart now. Hey, hey, don't you feel the rush? Oh, oh, oh, oh. Go on shake it up, what you gotta lose? Go and make your luck with the life you choose. If you want it all, lay it on the line. It's the only life you got, so you gotta live it big time!_

Everyone on Carlos' team, including a newly freed Kendall, swarmed around him, and knocked him over. Carlos laughed happily as the weight of his victory crushed him, but he didn't mind the pain. He had all the glory for once. They had been tied with that team for half the game and his shot had saved them from twenty minutes of overtime.

The gates locking the viewers out of the ice rink were opened and they began to flood as parents and friends raced to get to the pile of sweaty and cheering boys. Many were going too fast and fell over multiple times, including Riley. She eventually made it to the center of the ring and joined in with the team huddle. The guys all accepted her because she attended every game and was friendly with everyone on the team already. She squirmed her way to the bottom of the pile, ignoring the guys that were trying to get her attention to ask her to go here with them or do that for them. She knew that they were just boys being boys, hitting on a pretty girl. She didn't hold that against them in the least.

"Riley! What are you doing down here! Get out of here before you get hurt!" Carlos laughed in a breathless voice from the hundreds of pounds of people on top of him. "I have three older brothers Carlos, I do this kind of stuff all the time!" Riley protested, reminding Carlos that she was the only girl in a house of four guys. Her mother had died when she was five in a tragic car crash. He was there for her then and he'd be there for her until the day they were forced to depart.

"It doesn't matter what I say to you, does it?" Carlos asked as the boys began to slowly get out of the dog pile. Riley just smiled into Carlos' chocolate brown eyes as her hands began to grow cold from the ice she lay on. She would have laid there with him until his heart was content but, she felt someone tug at her ankles, yanking her out of the pile of guys, and Carlos out of sight.

She whipped around to see who was dragging her across the ice and laughed and shook her head. Logan had one ankle and Logan the other. They picked her up the rest of the way so that her back left the ice and began to skate around the rink, holding her up over their heads as if she were the trophy they had just won.

"Let go of me guys!" She couldn't stop laughing but her heart was pounding unpleasantly in her chest as she thought of the feeling she would receive if they accidentally dropped her.

"Guys, who are you tormenting now?" Kendall asked his friends as he walked over with his little sister and mother. Kendall knew who Riley was because Carlos, Logan, and James talked about her non-stop and he knew what she looked like from far away because she attended every home game and visited the team at practice a few times a season. She had been friends with his best friends since pre-school but he hadn't moved into town until they were in sixth grade so, despite all of the years he'd been friends with the guys he had yet been introduced to this girl in their hands.

"ME!" Riley squealed as she was finally let down to touch the ground once more. As she re-situated herself she looked up at Kendall for the first time, this close up. Their eyes met and she felt her heart take off in a race against her brain. "I'm Riley, I'm best friends with Carlos, James, and Logan…"

"Yes, you live next door to Carlos, don't you?" Kendall recalled, quickly taking notice to how pretty she was, this close up. Riley let out an unintelligible sound that he took as a yes. He smirked inside and out at her behavior. She was involuntarily checking him out and he could see it written all over her face.

"Hey guys!" Carlos popped up out of no where, finally up from the avalanche of boys. "Riley! I see you've met Kendall!" He smiled a huge, innocent smile at his best friend. She was finally able to tear her eyes off of Kendall and focus in on the guy she was here to see.

"Who care's about that!" Riley responded as she embraced Carlos in a firm hug that was returned automatically. Kendall couldn't help but feel a bubble of resentment that she had just shrugged of their meeting as no big deal. "You just made the winning goal against our rival school! We have to celebrate!"

"You don't have any money Riley." Carlos whispered in her ear low enough that only she could hear him. Her family's financial situation wasn't known by anyone in school except Carlos for two reasons. One was that he lived next door. The second was that Riley told Carlos everything. He knew about Riley's family's money troubles before his mother even did. He did everything in his power to help her disguise her lack of money from her peers. She took her head off of his shoulder and looked him in the eye. She felt warm all over and she sensed a wave of admiration as she gazed at him. He always was there to protect her, like a knight in shining armor.

"I'm sure someone here is throwing a party! Let's go ask around!" She pulled out of their hold on each other finally and began talking to each team member that caught her eye. All four of the boys did the same.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

Riley snapped her fingers and shook her head back and forth to the loud pop music that was blaring from the speakers that were located next to the host's laptop. Everyone was having a great time! The parents were in the back yard talking stats over, the guys with girl friends were occupying every seat in the house, most the athlete guys, including the four boys, were chilling by the snack tables eating, and everyone else was where Riley was, dancing to the music being played.

"Look at those moves, but I think I have a few better ones." A voice that was undeniably male sounded behind her back. She looked over her shoulder as the song ended and a slow sound began to play. "Care to dance?" He asked with a hand held out for her to take. She was frozen as she fought the battle raging in her head. What would one little dance hurt?

"Sure Kendall, why not?" She accepted his hand and let Kendal slide his hand onto her lower back. They began swaying to the music as they looked awkwardly at each other, unsure of what to say to one another. Being the idiot she was, she let the only thing that she could think of pour out of her mouth. "I saw your spill you took today. If that didn't happen you would have been the one to have scored the goal." The moment it was out of her mouth she wished she could have taken it back. How stupid could she be?

"Yeah, well I don't tend to dwell on could-have-been's. Carlos deserved the glory he received today. It was only a matter of time before he'd find a way to save the day." He shrugged, realizing that Riley had said something that she found extremely dumb to say. "Too bad I didn't make more of an effort to talk to you until today."

"Why would that be?" She asked in a small voice as her head screamed to find a way out of this situation. No. She couldn't be afraid to talk to cute new guys any longer. She would force herself to stay in this for once.

"Then I would be as close with you now as Carlos is." Kendall gave her a flirty smile that should have made her blush, but she didn't. The latter of his sentence tweaked her the wrong way. No one in her life was as close to her as Carlos was. No one would ever be. How dare this stranger come in and just assume that they would ever get that close.

She looked away from his intent gaze, trying to suppress her irritation. "I thought you said you didn't tend to dwell on could-have-been's." Her sentence had him thrown off, had him really thinking. It was true what he just said and yet she had turned him into a liar within seconds. He opened his mouth to tell her some cheesy line about her being different but the words never came out because Carlos had just came up to the couple that were still dancing to the song.

"Hey Kendall, your mom is looking for you. She said something about finding Katie and leaving." He said putting his hand on his friend's shoulder and gripping it tight. Kendall broke away from their dance unwillingly and nodded. "Thanks for the dance Riley." Kendall said politely as he walked away and she smiled and nodded in response.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

Katie and Mrs. Knight were making a beeline for the door with Kendall trailing reluctantly behind them. He wasn't yet ready to leave because he hadn't gotten the chance to say goodbye to James or Logan. They were his closest friends, right along with Carlos, and he would not feel at ease until he had bid them a farewell.

"Kendall!" The voices of the two boys he was fretting over called after him. He whirled around smiling and told his family to go to the car and he'd meet them there in a minute or two. "Hey guys! Well, actually it's a bye guys really…"

"We saw you…" James started and he sounded slightly upset, as if he was conflicted and torn between two different emotions.

"…dancing with Riley." Logan finished the sentence for James, as those two tended to do often for each other. "We saw the way you were looking at her and we have to tell you to stop looking at her like that right this second!"

"What?" Kendall laughed looking at them both as if they were crazy. "I just met her. I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Riley had always been intended for Carlos!" James stated as bluntly as he could.

Their words struck him hard in the chest and he caught himself peering around his friends to see her scanning over the snack table. She looked like she wanted to take a nice juicy strawberry, her favorite fruit but, there was mango also on the platter which she had never tried before. She was having a tough time picking what to eat.

"Does she want him too?" Kendall found himself asking indignantly, thinking about the way she had looked at Carlos earlier at the game. Yet they'd been friends for their entire lives, they've had _plenty_ of time to get their acts together already. If she wanted to be with him then they would have been already!

"We…we aren't entirely sure." Logan admitted, following Kendall's gaze, shooting him an annoyed glare, and stepping in his line of view. "Either way, you should stay away because Carlos has totally got the hotts for her! You can see it right now!" James pointed out gesturing to his friend staring at Riley with a look that could only be described as love struck.

"Yeah, no problem guys. I totally get it! She's totally off limits, like you said!" Kendall nodded his head and said his final goodbyes to his buddies as he walked out of the party, his eyes glued to Riley once more.

"Do you believe him?" Logan asked James, as he watched Kendall trip out the door, from not paying attention to where he was going, and instead kept his eyes glued to their best girl friend.

"Not even a little bit." James responded automatically, doing the same as Logan.

"Me either."

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

Kendall took a deep breath and started to pump himself up. It had taken all the guts in the world, not to mention a lot of lying, to get to where he was right now. What was he about to do? He was about to take out the one girl in the world all three of his friends wanted him to stay away from. He lightly rapped his knuckles on the wooden door and looked nervously over at Carlos' house right next door. He was waiting for Carlos to appear in a window or come outside and chase him with a hockey stick, screaming at him for even thinking that his best friend was hott. Which she most certainly was.

"Kendall, hey." Riley greeted with a pleased smile and a glance over her shoulder to make sure her dad wasn't behind her with a gun or something along those lines. "Are you ready to go?"

"I…" Kendall was speechless. She was wearing a long sleeved plum colored sweater-dress that clung to her curves quite nicely, a long black scarf, thick white tights, black boots, and a warm black beanie. She had curled her long hair so that it cascaded over her shoulders and down her back perfectly and her eyes were framed in a charcoal black liner that made the color pop. "…you look great!"

"Thank you, as do you. Now, what are we going to do today?" She said with a slight giggle in her tone as she stepped out of the doorframe and out into the chilly winter air. As she stepped closer to him he watched as snowflakes began to coat her hair delicately. "I hope it's nothing too rough because, as I can tell you can see, I am wearing a dress." Kendall looked away from her, embarrassed that she had noticed him checking her out.

"No, I…I, uh…we're going on a carriage ride." Kendall tried his best not to make his smile cheesy, but it ended up looking that way. Riley gave him a skeptical look before trying to hold back her laughter and walk with him towards where the carriage was going to wait for them. "The one's that the town set up to turn Christmas into _even more_ of a commercial holiday than it already is?" She asked as they saw the carriage trotting giddily up the street.

"Oh, it's not like your family doesn't get each other presents every Christmas." Kendall pointed out in a wise alloc-type voice. Riley took a deep breath, remembering to not panic when facing questions like these. It was also always better to start off each relationship with honesty. Before she could answer, Kendall helped up into the carriage, following in suit and telling the driver to go around town.

"No, they don't actually." Riley admitted, panic rising up in her like a hot air balloon had just taken off in her stomach and was taking a journey up to her head. "We pretty much do the same things as every other family, just without the gifts. My dad says it's a way to keep us selfless and generous at Christmas time. We give to the homeless and infirmaries in place of ourselves."

"That's great!" Kendall realized he had pretty much insulted her and her entire family. _Nice one genius! On the first date too!_ "Your family keeps the Christmas spirit alive."

"I guess you could look at it that way." She said as the wind whipped through her hair, disheveling it and causing her face to grow pink. _It is also because we can't afford it. We donate everything we DO have to the charities I mentioned but, it's still not enough to have gifts for our entire family._ Why couldn't she just say it? Finish the truth and have it out there, done and over with. Something kept it inside of her, kept it contained within her and Carlos.

Their date went on for about forty-five minutes before her house was coming into sight and they had to start wrapping things up.

"You're beautiful, inside and out. You realize that, don't you Rie?"

"Rie?" She questioned, noticing the shortened version of her name. "Careful, give me a pet nick name and before you know it, we're a couple."

"Exactly." Kendall stated plain and simple what was on his mind and had been ever since they met a week or so ago. "The guys want me to stay away from you and I tried, I really did for about three days but, I just couldn't stay away Rie. You kept drawing me into you. I don't know what it is, maybe it's the way you make me think more than anyone ever has before."

She felt the moment, she saw it coming. She closed her eyes and Kendall leaned in close enough to her face that she could smell him through the cologne that shaded his natural smell. Underneath the axe was a mix of fabric softener and rain. She liked that smell better than the spray and made a mental note to tell him later because right now all that mattered were the inches between their lips. The carriage came to a halt but the two didn't care, they were wrapped up in their moment.

"Riley? Is that you?" A familiar voice chimed right as she thought she was about to feel what kissing a guy was like for the first time. Riley leaned away and opened her eyes, with a disappointed frown on her face, and she noticed that Kendall had done the same. She turned slowly, expecting to see her dad there with a protective look on his face, instead to find Carlos standing at the steps of the carriage with a hurt and betrayed look on his face. "Gotta bring your sis to go visit your dad, huh?" Carlos looked directly at Kendall when saying this, causing Riley to look over at Kendall confused. He lied to go on this date with her? "Riley, can I talk to you, like now please?"

She hopped off the carriage and followed Carlos to his back yard without a single word or glance behind her, leaving Kendall to sit alone and staring after her once more. _Next time, you won't get away again._

"Look, I don't know what or why Kendall lied to you for. All I know is that I don't think I'm doing anything wrong…yet for some reason I _feel _like I am." Riley burst the moment they were out of Kendall's earshot.

"I can tell you why Riley. I…I know that we've been only friends our entire lives but, I've been wanting something…more…for a while now." Carlos blurted the second the last syllable was out of Riley's dark rosy lips. Riley's stomach did a flip, her head began to spin, and she felt like puking into the perfectly white snow. Did that _seriously_ just come out of his mouth? She opened her mouth to respond but she was left completely speechless. "I decided it for sure when we were ten. You and I were playing on the patch of ice that had frozen over the basket ball court in your backyard. You and I were slipping around on it when you told me you wanted to play hockey and you picked up the stick and started to play. You and I played that hockey game for four hours straight. Then our parents made us both go inside our separate houses. Then right as we were saying good bye, you whispered in my ear that you wanted to sneak out and play after they went to bed because you loved playing hockey with me." Both Carlos and Riley smiled at the thought of that memoir. "Then when we came back out we played for six more hours and then we got caught by my parents and you took all the blame. Do you remember that?"

"Do I ever? I was ground for a month for that! Plus, I wasn't aloud to see you because I was 'getting too close for comfort' in my dad's terms. It'll have been exactly six years soon actually."

"The only reason I've suddenly decided to tell you about these feelings is because I fear I may be losing you…to Kendall."

"I like you too Carlos." Riley found herself saying without thinking. As she thought about it she realized it was true. Truer than anything she'd ever said to ANYONE. There was one problem however, he sort of _was_ losing her to Kendall. If he hadn't said anything just now, she would have kissed him, dated him, and had a relationship with him with out a second thought.

This however, complicated things.

"I need time though…because…I sort of like Kendall too. I know it sounds crazy since I just met the guy but, I promise you that when I make the choice. I'll tell it to you. I have to go try to catch Kendall and catch him up. Just give me some space and let me work things out for myself, okay?"

"I promise you that I will." Carlos nodded. It wasn't the perfection that he'd always pictured in his fantasies but, it was half of that. It was real. He heard the words _I really like you too Carlos_ come out of her mouth, in her voice that was beautiful enough to be a song in itself. He would cherish those words and hold onto them as long as he lived because, he didn't just love her. He was _in_ love with her.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

"Kendall! Leave me alone!" She grumbled as she slammed her locker shut and walked in the opposite direction, but he didn't care what she said. He had to be near her. He yearned to hear her tell him that it was him that she wanted. That she did love Carlos but, she basically already had him and wanted to try something new instead. "I asked you to give me space, why are you suffocating me?"

"To make sure I'm not losing you!" Kendall exclaimed, rushing around her to cut her off from walking away. "You and Carlos have known each other practically since birth! That's some stiff competition to go against."

She looked over her shoulder at Carlos, who was staring at them longingly from afar. He had done as she said and had not come near her since first confessing his feelings for her. It irritated him and made him jealous to no end that Kendall wasn't following her wishes and what was worse, that she was letting him. Riley was never one to let anyone, especially not a guy, to push her around. Kendall was already proving to be a weak spot on her. Shouldn't love make you stronger, not weaker? Or did you have to be weak in order to begin getting stronger? At any rate he did not approve of Kendall's behavior and it wouldn't surprise him if their friendship did not survive this. They weren't fighting over any girl. They were fighting over the only girl that he had ever truly liked enough to do anything for.

"I guess it makes sense for you to feel insecure right now Kendall and maybe you should have the right to be. I'll be making my decision soon. I promise."

"I need you in my life, no matter what Rie." Kendal smiled and walked away, leaving Riley suddenly feeling forlorn. She looked over and noticed Carlos still staring, despite the fact that Kendall had already walked away.

She stood there and waited for him to come up and take his turn in campaigning for his win. She watched as he smiled weakly, put his last books away and walked down the hall as the warning bell rang. She watched as a teacher reprimanded him in the hallway for wearing that helmet of his. He didn't come over to boast her. He wasn't trying to beat Kendall at all. That hurt more than every time she fell on that ice, playing hockey with him six years ago.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

"I'm so glad you called me Rie!" Kendall cheered as he raced out to his front yard, to where Riley was standing with a conflicted look on her face. "Have you made your choice? I mean, you sounded serious on the phone. What's going on? Is everything okay?"

It'd been two months since she told the guys that she'd pick someone. It took her longer to decide than she had originally thought. The snow had just began to melt and enough was gone that she could ride her bike around, as she loved to do on her 1940's style huffy. That's how she'd drove to Kendall's house, taking her bike out for a spin for the first time that spring.

"Yes, nothing, and yes." Riley said, smiling for the first time since she had gotten there. Kendall smiled full of joy at the fact that she'd shown up to tell him whom she chose and she seemed happy. That was a good sign for him. "Kendall…I love Carlos…" She said with a slow sigh and Kendall's heart automatically started thudding so loud that he was sure she could hear it from where she stood.

"Before you continue, I want to give you something. No matter whom you choose, I picked it out for you and I want you to have it." He blurted, interrupting her speech to dig into his coat pocket for a small little paper package. He handed it over to her to watch her open it delicately. "When I saw it, it made me think of you and I knew that I had to get it for you."

It was a necklace. It was on a strong golden chain with a golden heart that had a deep red ruby encrusted around the edge of it and in the middle a star was etched into the gold. It was definitely gorgeous. The only problem was that Riley liked silver better and emeralds were her favorite rock. However, she could tell that he had spent a lot of money on it and she couldn't bare the thought of disappointing him after blowing so much on her. Her original choice began to fuzz away slightly.

"Mind if I put it on you?" He asked softly, with a shyness that she didn't recognize as one of his characteristics. She handed him the ends of the chain and allowed him to clasp it around her neck, like a collar proclaiming who owned this dog, she was his. She whirled around, the emotion inside of her shining in her bright eyes.

"You, it's you Kendall." She whispered and let him lean in and plant a kiss on her. She felt a rush of emotion then…nothing. She pulled away shocked but, nothing could be done now. They were now together and it may have just been the fact that they had never kissed each other before. Her mother had told her that it took time for a couple to adjust how they kissed to match their wants. She accepted that thought in her mind and hugged him tightly. "I have to go and break the news to Carlos…"

"Good luck."

She pulled away and nodded, guilt suddenly rising up in her that she changed her mind so fast. She was going to pick Carlos but, something had changed her mind. She fought in her head for some reason to justify her choice and found one that made her feel better. Not that she'd ever tell anyone what it was. She quickly texted Carlos, telling him to meet her in the park, and she took off on her bike with the feeling of Kendall's lips over her own stuck in her mind.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

The months went by and Kendall and Carlos had fought. They had even gotten in a fist fight once that Riley had to break up herself. It took them months but, they eventually mended their friendship enough that they could be close again. As long as the topic stayed off of Riley everything seemed normal but, the moment she did things got tense. Luckily, Carlos had figured out that if he kept himself distracted with pretty girls that he didn't really care for, he could handle the thought of Kendall and Riley together. The months and seasons came and went and soon it was summer.

This big record producer had come into town and James, who'd always dreamed of being famous for one reason or another, wanted to go to the audition desperately. Riley was the one that convinced Kendall and the guys to go with him and support him. What she didn't expect was for them to come back to her a few days later, announcing that they were all going to Hollywood to try and make it as a pop boy band. They had to leave ASAP.

"This is it…isn't it?" Riley questioned as she looked from one side of the group of boys in front of her to the other, with a pout puckering her lips. She gave first James a hug and reminded him that even though he w_as_ good looking, his friends were the reason that he received this opportunity and to never forget it. Then she hugged Logan, reminding him that even though he _was_ extremely smart, he didn't know everything and could still learn a thing or two down in Hollywood. Then she made it to Carlos, who stood before her without a single expression on him face, just a blank canvas.

"You're really leaving, aren't you?" She asked him, trying her best to bury herself underneath his I-don't-really-care-all-that-much facade. The tears that edged themselves into her beautiful hazel eyes finally shattered the mask into pieces and he step onto the shards at his feet as he flung his arms around her petite figure. "God Riley, I don't know what I'm going to do without you!" He muttered into her ear, for only her to hear.

"You'll figure it out, I'm sure. You're a smart guy Carlos, just use your head." She felt a single tear roll down her cheek as she fought the gnawing feeling in her chest from the thought of not seeing Carlos every day. She smacked him in the helmet with a snide smirk. "You even have protection against the stupid ones." They pulled apart and she finally turned to her boyfriend, the one person who'd forever have her first kiss.

"Kendall…" She said as her voice squeaked and more tears spilled over her cheeks.

"Guys, you wanna meet me in the car?" He directed his posse of guys, barely able to stand the sight of Riley crying. Never had he seen her cry and this was not how he wanted to experience it for the first time. She was crying over him! Once the guys were gone, Kendall's lips were attacking Riley's, trying to taste her lips enough to keep it imprinted into his memory.

Riley tried to push him off, but he was driven by passion and the knowledge that he wouldn't see her again, at least until this band thing fell out. "Kendall…" She murmured against his lips with much effort and he was suddenly reminded that his girlfriend probably wanted to make a heartfelt goodbye, like in the movies.

"I think we should break up."

He was floored.

"WHAT?" He cried as his face fell into a troubled looking face as he stared hard at this beautiful creature. "You continue to surprise me! Why Riley? I'm willing to try a long distance relationship! We could-"

"No, Kendall! You're going to get to LA and you'll be surrounded by models and before you know it, you're wearing a different girl on your arm and you'll remember me as the pathetic little girl that gave you her first kiss!"

"Rie!" He exclaimed with a voice full of anger. How DARE she say that or even think it? She blanched back at the tone of voice in which he spoke and it didn't go unnoticed. "Rie…" He repeated in a softer voice that caused her to look her deep into her eyes. "If that's truly what you want, deep in your heart then I guess I'll have to comply. Whatever it takes to make you happy and see that smile of yours that makes my heart melt." He stroked his thumb over her cheek gently, causing a smile to draw itself up onto her face, only a small one. "I will not give up on you. I promise you that I will _not_ move on. You have my heart, it belongs to you and no one else. Give it a year, we'll be back before you know it. I mean, seriously! Do you honestly belief that Logan, Carlos, James, and I can become a band that is actually _successful_?"

_Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh_

_Now_

"…and that's what happened." Riley sighed as they finished taking turns explaining their story to Jo. Riley couldn't help but leave out the parts about choosing Carlos first, that was a secret that'd she'd take to the grave because it would kill both Carlos and Kendall if they knew the truth. "I suppose it was my fault for breaking up with him but, he made a promise that I'd expected he was going to keep."

"Well, you know what happens to guys when brought to Hollywood, everyone and everything changes…" Carlos spat with vehement, as jealousy and suppressed anger coursed through his veins. He thought it would be good for him to hear the story again but, it had majorly backfired on him. Kendall didn't even look like he felt guilty and that mad Carlos only madder.

"It was before I met you that I made that promise Jo…" Kendall assured his panic-stricken girlfriend. It felt like someone had stabbed Riley in the gut. Riley smiled as she felt tears push at her eyes once more. It felt as though her vocal cords had been tied in a knot. She had to remind herself consistently that Kendall didn't belong to her anymore. He belonged to Jo.

"Well, now that we've gotten…_that_ straightened out…" Riley tried to keep her voice steady but, that knot failed her, causing her voice to shake in heart ache. "Please excuse me."

She trembled as she got up from her seat and picked up the speed of her steps as she ran into Katie's room, making sure the door quickly slammed behind her.

"RILEY!" Carlos yelled in concern because he saw her face and he knew her well enough to know that she was about to burst into tears. "What is the matter with you?"

"Carlos, I…" Kendall started but, Carlos didn't let him finish as he raced over to the door that his favorite girl was hidden behind. Luckily, she hadn't locked the door yet so, he was able to rush in.

"Go away Carlos…" She screamed, embarrassed that he was seeing her looking this way. She was huddled in a ball as she bawled her eyes out on the rug. She looked a puddle of pathetic.

"Not this time." Carlos said in a stern voice, he was done being the loser in this game.


	3. Big Time Game Changers

The air in the young girl's room continued to grow thicker and heavier as Riley stared up into Carlos' determined expression. He wasn't backing down from what he had said to her, he was not leaving this room and neither was she until he knew what he could do to make her feel better. Slow tears streamed lightly down her cheeks as she tried to hold back her crying, for the sake of Carlos' presence. This had to be the most embarrassing moment of her life.

"Riley…why are you on the floor?" He finally asked, refusing to break their powerful eye contact. Riley sniffled in response, being the one to look away. Carlos wanted to smile at her and tell her to perk up because everything was going to be okay.

Except it wasn't.

Carlos had spent an entire year trying to get over Riley. He buried his feelings and chased after girls that he had no real interest in, past their skin deep good looks. He never really had gotten over his childhood crush, which sat in a listless mess at his feet. He helped her up onto the bed, wondering what in the world Kendall was thinking at this moment. Did he really mean to say that he was going to pick Jo over Riley? Was he going to pick the blonde cutie that he just met six months ago over Riley, the girl that he had dated and admittedly _loved_ according to what he had said earlier this morning? Kendall was the luckiest guy alive to have her affections so close at hand and yet here he was, ignoring them and taking them for granted. The urge to get into another fist fight, like the one they had last year, flared up into Carlos' being.

_They were fighting…again. Carlos looked from Logan to James with a helpless look on his face, trying to figure out what they could do to make them stop._

"_Why can't you just be happy for me Kendal?" Riley screeched as she shook her head in astonishment. This had to have been one of their worst fights yet and of course they had to have fallen into it while in the presence of their best friends. She was sure that this made their relationship look totally golden! This had been the first time that all of them had hung out together since Kendall and Riley had gotten together. Tensions were high to begin with and this would only make things abundantly worse. "I got the LEAD! In a play that is NOT being run by the school! I don't get the big deal here!"_

"_You have to KISS another guy is my problem!" Kendall snapped in surprise that it wasn't obvious._

"_It's just acting!"_

"_With your EX-BOYFRIEND?" Kendall finally let out the biggest worry of it. "Since you guys never kissed, how should I know whether or not any…unchartered feelings come up?"_

_It was true, Riley had dated her co-star back in Freshmen year. They never kissed due to the fact that they were so busy with other activities that they rarely got to see each other. They just grew apart, meaning that they never actually had much of a relationship to burn out. There could have been some sort of suppressed feelings there and deep down she understood where Kendall was coming from, not that she'd ever admit that._

"_Are you serious? I'm dating YOU Kendall! If I wanted to be dating that guy, I WOULD BE!"_

"_Dude, get off her back and let her do it…" Carlos muttered, getting slightly fed up with this meaningless little lovers quarrel._

"_What?" Kendall asked in shock as his head snapped over in his best friend's direction._

"_She loves acting so, just let her do her thing, go support her, and then move on with your life." Carlos spoke up, a slight defiance clear in his tone of voice._

"_Easy for you to say, you've already lost her."_

"_Kendall!" Riley shrieked in utter disappointment. Logan and James just stared in shock. Kendall NEVER acted like this. He was usually the composed, gentle, sweet, and rational one of their group that was always considerate of other people's feelings. His jealousy reared up bigger than it ever had been before in his life, because Riley was something he never wanted to lose amongst his possessions. _

_No one really had time to think past that reprimanding word because once Carlos sensed Riley on his side he swung. His fist collided with Kendall's jaw and once Kendall had processed enough what had just happened, he swung back._

"_Carlos! Kendall! STOP IT!" Riley screamed on the top of her lungs as she darted towards them. She never got in-between them because she felt a protective arm loop around her waist from behind and she watched as James pulled her away from the fighting boys. This was a guy thing that had been boiling up for weeks. They needed to get it out of their systems if they were ever going to make it to being friends again. "Please just cut it out!"_

_They ignored her. They kept punching and wrestling around, trying to beat the other one in this battle, because to them it was a battle for Riley's heart. In Carlos' mind he had to beat him in this fist fight because if had to lose her, he had to win something in return. In Kendall's mind he had to win this to prove to Riley that he was worthy of her, that she had indeed made the right choice._

_Riley felt that haunting feeling in her gut lurch. It was telling her to end this fight once and for all because these guys were best friends and they were going at each other like they hated the other. _

_And it was all her fault…_

_She stomped down on Logan's foot, hard which caused him to yelp in pain, and release her from his stone hard grip. She flung herself forward, sliding into their duel. Carlos was just about to swing another punch at Kendal when he saw her glide in front of him but, it was too late. He had already began to swing and his hand hadn't registered with his brain yet. Riley was fast though, she had taken karate as a pre-teen. She caught his fist and glared him hard in the eyes._

"_Stop it Carlos." She said in a low, meaningful voice. He took a deep, huffing breath and nodded. He had to, because she asked._

That fist fight definitely had helped them mend their broken bridge but, now he felt as though this time it would terminate it. He couldn't fight him again, or he'd lose his best friend. Both Riley and Kendall all at once. He wasn't ready for that kind of loss quite yet so, he decided to behave himself and just take care of Riley.

"Why are you here?" Riley finally spoke up, peering up at his figure miraculously with tears still streaming down her face. Carlos was confused as well, as to why she would question him so readily. He had always been there for her for as long as either of them could remember. Why would she bother asking something like that _now_? After all they had been through! "I've been…s-so…so terrible to you for the past year…y-yet here you are. You're still standing by to pick up the pieces."

"Of course I am…" He was at a loss for words past that. What else was there to say really, everything else was silently understood between the two of them? _Oh, oh, oh, oh_

_Make it count, play it straight. Don't look back, don't hesitate. When you go big time. What you want, what you feel. Never quit and make it real. When you go big time. Hey! Hey! Listen to your heart now. Hey! Hey! Don't you feel the rush? Oh, oh, oh, oh. Go on shake it up, what you gotta lose? Gotta live your life, with the life you choose. If you want it all, lay it on the line. It's the only life you got. So, you gotta live it big time._

"I just needed time away from them all…" Riley sighed as she let the rays of the sun pour over her and felt her skin drink them in to caramelize to perfection.

"Totally understandable. I honestly believe you're taking this incredibly well." Camille said as she continued to lay on the chair right next to her. "A lot better than Jo is anyways…"

"It's a lot to take in all at once. We really pounded it all on her pretty quickly." A thought crept into Riley's head as the words came out of her mouth. She propped herself up onto her elbows as she looked over at the other brunette beauty adjacent to herself. "Does she hate me?"

"Who? Jo? Nah, she's pretty ticked at Kendall right now and other than her jealousy over Kendall's past with you, I think likes you well enough…"

"So, in other words…she hates me."

"Yeah, pretty much…" Camille sheepishly admitted with an apologetic grin. "I'm sure if she got to know you better, she would like you though."

"I'm only here for the summer. That doesn't leave me much time, putting into account that I have all of this petty drama going on with the boys."

"What is going on is NOT petty Riley." She spoke up, looking into her new friend's beautiful features with astonishment. "This is about love and happiness and what is right! I'm proud of you for sticking around and not running away from the Palm woods. I half expected you to go back to Minnesota when you saw how much things have changed."

"That's not me Camille. I don't run. I tackle." I impish grin splayed over Riley's features as she stood up from her chair. "Speaking of which, would you like to come with me to go play football with a few kids that I met on my floor?"

"Sure, why not!" Camille got up from her chair and checked over her shoulder to see Jo, giving her the thumbs up. Camille's stomach dropped out and she nodded, letting Jo know that she'd seen the signal. She did not feel right about this, not one tiny bit. She did actually like Riley and enjoyed her company, trying to get her to fall into their trap was going against most of what she believed in. But Jo was her best friend and best friends stick together.

Jo's wicked smile fell a little bit at the sight of her friend's guilty face. Camille didn't like her plan, not one little bit and normally Jo was too mature for this but, this was for Kendall. She had to do whatever it took to keep him by her side. She loved that boy. Love makes you do crazy things that you normally wouldn't. The plan had to work! If not…

Riley would be on the next plane back to Minnesota if Jo had anything to do about it.

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

"So let me get this straight…" Gustavo said peering over his desk at half of the members of Big Time Rush. "You're worried about the band's unity…because of a girl." James and Logan nodded rigorously to his statement, their heads swirling with different ideas as to how all this could end. "Kendall and Carlos are both chasing after this random…"

"She's not random sir, she's been our friend for years and both of them have been fighting over her for the past year." Logan corrected, not liking the way Gustavo was labeling his best friend. "She's an amazing girl but, she tends to unintentionally cause drama within our friendship."

"Well, the only thing I can think of doing is getting her to go away, get out of the picture."

"No!" James whined while stomping his foot like a little boy. "We love her too Gustavo, just not in the same way that Carlos and Kendall do. We just need to find a way to get both of them to stop fighting over her!"

"Kendall has a girlfriend, doesn't he?" Gustavo recalled in an accusing tone of voice, only to receive more nods in return. "Boys, I'm glad you came to me. It shows a lot of courage, being that you four are scared of me-"

"But we're not sc-"

"—and being that you boys were so brave, I'll help you. Since Kendall already has a honey of his own, we're going to help Carlos get with this uh…Riley, is it? Then Kendall can get back to frolicking with his girl and you two can be the single heart throbs of the group that will get the girls to swoon over BTR."

"Isn't that Kendall's job?"

"NOT ANYMORE! Now, get into the recording booth, I see the two fighting chickens coming!" Gustavo shoved the two into the sound proof room and waited for the two guys to pop up in the doorway.

"I just…even though I love her…I think things were much better when she wasn't here. Things were less complicated. I kind of want her to go home…" Kendall's voice echoed done the hallway. Gustavo couldn't believe his ears! Kendall wanted her to…go away? Another thing that surprised him was how civil his tone was to Carlos. From what the other two guys said, they were at each other's throats. Right now they sounded as though they were debating which cell phone plans were better, not about the girl that they were apparently fighting over!

"I get where you're coming from Kendall but…how could you say that? Riley is like a goddess to me. No matter what she does to mess things up, she always seems radiant and perfect to me. That's my problem." Carlos rebutted, trying to prove once more that he was what was best for Riley. If only Riley herself would see that…

"Boys!" Gustavo called once he knew they could hear him. Both the boys quieted their conversation, not wanting their boss to know about this personal dilemma. "James and Logan told me that you have a friend in town."

"They did…" Carlos inquired with a nervous expression and worried look over at Kendall.

"Yup and I want her to come down to the studio so I can meet her! From what I heard she sounds like a lovely girl!"

"Um…okay?" Kendall said looking over at Carlos with a confused expression. What was his boss up to? He never called ANYONE lovely, even if they were… "We'll, uh…bring her down tomorrow…"

"Good, now get in the recording booth! We have a new song to record."

Oh*Oh*Oh*Oh

"Riley! Riley! Oh my GOD, Riley!" Camille bellowed as she sprinted through the lobby of the Palm Woods to get to the soccer-playing teen. Riley turned and watched as she elbowed past all the aspiring kids of the future entertainment industry. "You got it!"

"I got what?" Riley questioned, giving up her patience and meeting Camille half-way.

"You are the new Lianna Lune from the Wizard Diaries Saga!" She cheered, knocking Riley over in excitement. As Riley laid underneath the other actress her mind went crazy as she thought this through. She…had just gotten…a part…in a movie…

"You mean the movie that's based off of the series of books about a girl that moves to a new town after both her parents die, only to meet this boy that she falls in love with who happens to be a wizard and brings her to a school of witch craft and wizardry because she learns that she is one too, and there she meets that he has this evil brother who also falls in love with her, but it's sort of put off to the side because the first wizard that she fell for is being hunted by another wizard that is out to kill him to get his revenge, and to top it all off she seems to be this dopple ganger of another witch in the school that both of the wizard boys seem to have fallen for in the past!"

"That's the one!"

"Oh my GOD!" Riley jumped up and down in utter amazement. Across the lobby, looking over her lines for her next episode, Jo sat glaring at the news displayed in front of her eyes. Looked like she w_ould_ have to put her plan into action after all.


End file.
